New Way To Negotiate Teacher Pay Leads to Complaint in Rutherford Co.

Rutherford Education Association president Torian Hodges-Finch says no one seems to know how collaborative conferencing should work. Credit: RCS

Tennessee’s new alternative to teacher collective bargaining isn’t going so well in Rutherford County. The organization representing teachers has filed a formal complaint with the state board of education.

The state legislature outlawed collective bargaining in 2011, favoring instead something less binding called “collaborative conferencing.”

Rutherford County Schools officials sat down with teacher representatives for these newfangled negotiation sessions six times to talk about pay, benefits and other employment issues like days off. But ultimately, the district refused to sign a memorandum of understanding.

Without a document, teachers say collaborative conferencing is “pointless.”

“Everyone can say something,” Rutherford Education Association president Torian Hodges-Finch says. “But at the end of the day, how do you enforce it? How do you say this is what we came up with, this is what we agreed to? You put it in writing.”

District officials contend they are not obligated to have any sort of legal agreement with teachers and that their policies and procedures are sufficient.

“At this time, the district is reviewing the REA’s complaint,” according to a written statement. “The school board and district leaders value teachers and care greatly about their welfare.”

Rutherford County is in uncharted waters. Since collective bargaining was outlawed in 2011, there have been no appeals to the state.

The teacher’s association hasn’t specifically threatened legal action, but the complaint says the group could “seek relief in the Chancery Court” without “prompt and reasonable resolution.”